Eagle Eye (2-Disc Special Edition) DVDReview

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Is this thriller worth spying on?

By Christopher Monfette

If Eagle Eye were released in the early 1990s, it might now qualify as a classic. A film about the potential dangers of our plugged-in, hooked-up culture, it would have stood up beautifully against computer-based thrillers of that time like The Net or Hackers, not to mention the spate of technophobic Michael Crichton adaptations that excited and terrified audiences during the dawn of the Internet era.

Unfortunately, in an age when folks can practically shoot a feature film on their cell phones and Web sites can offer real-time satellite images of your backyard, this kind of story is about as bone-chilling as a brain freeze from the last sip of an Icee: You forgot it could happen, but then you remember you were the one who drank the thing in the first place. A story born from the well-worn hardware of techno-thrillers past but without the proper software upgrade to accompany it, Eagle Eye is a mediocre attempt at suspense that manages to lose all of its dramatic weight at the exact moment it drops its heaviest truths.

Eagle Eye is a dark movie with lots of sequences taking place either at night or in dim, fluorescent-lit locations. Even the daytime scenes take on a kind of pallor about them. This is not to say that the image suffers as a result, but only to mention that it's not likely to blow away your television with an exceptionally bright color palate. Thankfully, the black levels are sufficiently deep and the contrast such so that when a color element does leap into frame, it makes the film look all the more interesting. Overall, the image quality is fairly high as well, offering few instances of noise or artifcating and relatively little grain.

Score: 8 out of 10

Languages and Audio

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is fairly effective. The score sells the softer, quieter moments toward the beginning of the film, while the surround sound underlines the booming music and directional audio throughout the more action-oriented suspense moments. The film also takes place across a number of different locations and the mix does a decent job at creating an ambient soundscape that makes the viewer feel rooted in the given locale. The dialogue is well supported and the HAL-like element of the disembodied voice floats across the speakers. It's an all-around solid transfer.

Score: 8 out of 10

Packaging and Extras

Eagle Eye includes a number of extras, most of which all feel like the same basic thing repeated over and over.

Alternate Ending

Road Trip: On Location

Asymmetrical Warfare: Making of Eagle Eye

Eagle Eye on Location

Is My Cell Phone Spying on Me?

Shall We Play a Game

Gag Reel

In the absence of any commentary, "Road Trip" is a five-minute feature about the production's nomadic nature, rarely spending two days of filming in any one location. It simply serves as a testament to the fact rather than provides any specific sense of what went on where, or the logistics involved in coordinating such a feat. "Making Eagle Eye" is roughly the same thing, only about 15 minutes in length, and focuses largely on the fact that the idea for the film was originally formulated by Steven Spielberg ten years ago. There's also some interesting material about the working relationship between director Caruso and superstar LaBeouf. "Eagle Eye on Location" shifts the focus to Washington D.C. and talks a bit about the process of filming at the Library of Congress. None of this is particularly interesting, but it might hold some value to the passive viewer of DVD bonus features.

"Is My Cell Phone Spying on Me," however, proves to be a fascinating 10-minute look at the various ways in which we're constantly watched by surveillance cameras and how our cell phones actually can track us from place to place. It's an interesting look at the legality and ethics of a culture curveball thrown to us by an industry of rapidly developing technologies. "Shall We Play a Game" provides a several-minute conversation between director D.J. Caruso and his mentor John Badham, the director of the 80's classic War Games. It's a fine conversation, and perhaps insightful to those interested in either director, but holds little appeal to the broader crowd. Lastly, neither the alternate ending nor the deleted scenes add much punch to the set, though the short coda in the alternate stretches things a bit to open up a possible sequel.